Loving: Fresh Guacamole

Recipe from my boys:

2 avocados
Basil
Cilantro
Garlic
White onion
Hot pepper
Sea salt
Ground pepper
Touch of honey
Extra virgin olive oil
Teaspoon of lemon juice

Mash together.

Add diced tomato.

Devour.

Simple + Delicious

If Buby could have just one treat for the rest of his life, he'd declare a toss up between the Gooey Thumbprints we baked this afternoon and Kitty's Hamantaschen. They are basically the same cookie.


We discovered this recipe in a book called Sesame Street Baking With Kids. I may have posted it before. I use organic sweet cream butter sticks and Polaner All-Fruit jelly in three flavors: raspberry, apricot and strawberry. The cookie dough is so yummy!



Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour



Directions:
1) Beat the butter, powdered sugar, brown sugar and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the egg; beat until well blended.


2) Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour or until firm.


3) Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.


4) Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.


5) Press the center of each ball with your thumb. Fill the depression with a heaping 1/4 teaspoon jam.


6) Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are light golden brown. Cool on the cookie sheets for 1 minute and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.


Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Delicious Xs 10

These are the key lime cupcakes we made on Saturday. They were absolutely heavenly. Recipe from here.

Thanks for the tip, Allison.

Apple Names 101

Click to enlarge



This apple guide is a brochure from our local farmer's market that I scanned in and posted last year. It's incredibly helpful when we go apple picking, so thought I'd share. Again.

Food For Everybody

Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cool Kids' Cooking. It was a gift and at first glance one geared to families with much older children. Like 6, 9, 12 year olds. Not all the dishes are healthy or things I would ever serve a toddler. But still I couldn't wait to peruse being the 1/2 homemade chick I am. I don't have the time or patience to do from-scratch casseroles very often, especially with us being a commuter clan who eats late. But my way is simpler and usually much healthier. We shop often and use the freshest ingredients. Last night Buby ate half a vine tomato, cheese, and steamed carrots. The night before was roasted potatoes, broccoli, a few almonds, and some of my steak. Sometimes dinner is as simple as whole wheat veggie rotini with vinaigrette or an egg white omelet with spinach and cheese, wheat toast, and fruit. Buby gets everything he needs in a day, so I rarely go to cookbooks. Well on Monday Buby found this Sandra Lee hardcover on my chair and shouted "WOW... FOOD FOR EVERYBODY!" It was too cute. He said "MAMA READ IT!" We sat on the floor and flipped through... he went berserk over the occasional illustration. Every day since he's asked one of us to read it to him. Buby really does love all things culinary. I decided I like the layout and organization a lot. Most of the recipes are without photos, which is a negative for me, but it's a playful format with easy lists and instructions even I can grasp. I was inspired to flag a handful of pages right away. And my little guy can help me prep every dish. Friends, feel free to check out my copy. I have a feeling this book will be on our counter for a long time. Buy it here.

Soup Recipe: Chicken Noodle

Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe courtesy Food Network

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 medium onion,thinly sliced

1 small carrot, thinly sliced

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley

6 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned

1/2 cup water Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 pound egg noodles (preferably wide ones)

1 1/4 cups shredded cooked chicken (meat from about 1 breast)

1 tablespoon whole flat-leaf parsley leaves AND/OR

1 tablespoon fresh dill fronds, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put the onion, carrots, celery, thyme, parsley, chicken broth, and water in a medium pot. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Simmer until the vegetables are almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add the noodles and cook until tender, 5 to 8 minutes (depending upon the size of the noodles). Add the chicken, warm through, and then adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Garnished with parsley and dill.

NOTES:

For my Soup Swap, I multiplied the recipe xs 4 for 16 servings. I marinated 4 chicken breasts in a roasted red pepper and garlic sauce and grilled them. I shredded the chicken by hand. I used extra wide egg noodles and organic chicken broth. Next time I may dice the onions instead of slicing them thinly, and I will use less celery in the future. Otherwise, it was delish!!

Soup Recipe: Corn Chowder

Sweet Corn & Potato Chowder
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons butter
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups canned vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
6 ears corn
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

INSTRUCTIONS:
Heat the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until the vegetables are good and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Dust the vegetables with flour and stir to coat everything well. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream and the potatoes bring to a boil and boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down (this will help to thicken the soup and give it a good texture). Cut the corn kernels off the cob and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the corn is soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the parsley and give it another little drink of olive oil. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

NOTES:
I doubled the recipe for 16 servings. I used 6 potatoes total instead of 4 to make it chunkier. I used about 10 cups of vegetable stock instead of 12. {Emeril makes a good organic vegetable stock.} And I only used a touch of sea salt for the kids, but you can salt to taste.

image: flickr